Hey everyone! I was just wondering how everyone thought the ELAT went today. I applied for Classics and English at Oxford so I did the ELAT and the CAT. I thought the topic was alright and I wrote fairly okay, but some of the extracts were hard. [mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] - how did you find it? Good luck to everyoneeee!!

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(Original post by immyosborn)
Hey everyone! I was just wondering how everyone thought the ELAT went today. I applied for Classics and English at Oxford so I did the ELAT and the CAT. I thought the topic was alright and I wrote fairly okay, but some of the extracts were hard. What did everyone choose & how did you find it? Good luck to everyoneeee!!

Which extracts did you choose? I did both the poems and found it okayy but [mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] :/ Good luck with your application(:

(Original post by bernard(:)
Which extracts did you choose? I did both the poems [mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] and found it okayy but analysed [mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] :/ Good luck with your application(:

[mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] I think it went okay, but reeeallyyyy tight on time!
Do you think you did well? I'm sure you smashed it.

I did [mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] I actually thought it went pretty well and stuck to my structure for the first time in an ELAT under timed conditions! [mod deleted - do not discuss specific questions] I think it went well but you never know if you fell into a delusional trance and accidentally just wrote discombobulation over and over again for an hour and a half.

I did the first two and I was so happy as I had some great close analysis points
Then I left the exam and realised I'd been referring to one of the characters in the short story by the wrong name throughout my essay, instinctively referring to them by the name given in the title
So I've mucked everything up in a really stupid mistake... :/

My answer was really short, like 750 words. Just 2 main body paragraphs. But I kept reasserting my focus ( though I can't remember what happened at the end of my second paragraph tbh. Was too busy rushing a conclusion. I did c and d.

All in all, I loathed the theme more than any other that has ever been in the ELAT, but some parts of my answer were still okay so fingers crossed I get an interview.

(Original post by Confusedboutlife)
My answer was really short, like 750 words. Just 2 main body paragraphs. But I kept reasserting my focus ( though I can't remember what happened at the end of my second paragraph tbh. Was too busy rushing a conclusion. I did c and d.

All in all, I loathed the theme more than any other that has ever been in the ELAT, but some parts of my answer were still okay so fingers crossed I get an interview.

Hey! My answer was also only 2 main body paras, but I think if you put a good amount of detail in then you will do fine. I did (a) and (d) but I thought the overall theme was not the easiest to write about. Not as nice as past paper questions...

(Original post by EmzLordy)
Hey! My answer was also only 2 main body paras, but I think if you put a good amount of detail in then you will do fine. I did (a) and (d) but I thought the overall theme was not the easiest to write about. Not as nice as past paper questions...

I literally went home and wrote a list of amazing themes it could have been... Queens, Night, Flowers, History, Masks, Light, The Body, Animals ,Colour, tbh it could even have been the city of Oxford!

All interesting themes. But the theme in the ELAT paper, I felt it was random tbh. That just goes to show anything can be a theme! One year it could be on soap,,. I was hoping the exam would be more exciting, but I imagine some may have liked the theme! Still feels like a bit of a waste...

(Original post by Confusedboutlife)
I literally went home and wrote a list of amazing themes it could have been... Queens, Night, Flowers, History, Masks, Light, The Body, Animals ,Colour, tbh it could even have been the city of Oxford!

All interesting themes. But the theme in the ELAT paper, I felt it was random tbh. That just goes to show anything can be a theme! One year it could be on soap,,. I was hoping the exam would be more exciting, but I imagine some may have liked the theme! Still feels like a bit of a waste...

agreed! Did not feel like I could get that many interesting points out of it. Hopefully my literary points will be good enough as they won't be amazed by my imagination!!

(Original post by EmzLordy) agreed! Did not feel like I could get that many interesting points out of it. Hopefully my literary points will be good enough as they won't be amazed by my imagination!!

Yeah, the test is mainly about close reading, frequent comparison and contrast, and a tight structure that reasserts the focus all the time. They do not judge you on the complexity of your focus, more it's clarity and accuracy I'd say.

Did your essay have to be about the theme that was given or could you have written about the extracts in anyway you wanted to - i.e. based it upon a different theme you thought was more fruitful writing about?